Scientists turn to ancient DNA to understand the history of Easter Island, a remote island in the Pacific Ocean also known as Rapa Nui.

The new study also indicates the Polynesian people who settled Rapa Nui mixed with indigenous South Americans centuries before the arrival of Europeans.

The long-held narrative is that the original inhabitants of Easter Island grew so fascinated with stone statues they decimated the ecological bounty of the island to clear the way to live and build. That’s simply not the case, according to the report.

Just what happened to the ancient residents of the isolated island has long been shrouded in mystery, but new studies are shedding some light. It’s one of the most isolated inhabited places in the world and has captured the imaginations of many.